Tracing Your Ancestors Through Past Life Regression
Well, you’ve come to a dead-end with a direct ancestor – so, is it possible to trace them through Past Life Regression? What’s this all about, you’re asking!
Imagine a scenario – you’ve traced back an ancestor through IGI/parish registers, and found the earliest record was of his marriage, but you can’t find out where he originally came from and you’ve no idea who his parents or siblings were. It’s happened to us all, probably many times. And it is so frustrating – if only we could trace this or that person back another generation, we might then get all the way back to William the Conqueror!
Well, there may be a way to crack the ‘dead-end’ problem! However, the technique seems to be a ‘taboo’ subject as far as Family History is concerned. I’ve yet to see any mention of it in any Family History book, magazine or article.
Some years ago, there was a series of TV programmes on ‘Past Life Regression’ where it was claimed that hypnotists took or ‘regressed’ people back to their previous lives.
This was, as you can imagine, somewhat controversial. Many people think there is no such thing as an ‘after-life’ or reincarnation, and therefore you cannot have any memories about past lives because you’ve never had any! Therefore, sceptics maintain that such ‘‘Past Life Regression’ memories you may claim actually come from your subconscious – a long-forgotten book you read many years ago or an old ‘period’ Hollywood film that you saw but have consciously forgotten. And indeed many subsequent scientific investigations seemed to bear this out.
However, there are also people who believe in an after-life, and two of the major religions of the world, Buddhism and Hinduism, subscribe to re-incarnation. So could you have lived before?
It’s a fascinating theory, but I have my doubts. And as far as Family History is concerned, I think ‘Past Life Regression’ would be of very limited value, even if it true. In a previous life you may have been an Eskimo, or an African warrior, or a French washer-woman – i.e. nobody directly related to you. And because Family Historians usually have a love of history – reading factual history books and historical fiction novels, watching TV historical dramas and documentaries – it’s possible that we could create false ‘past lives’ from these experiences, as others have done so before.
However, there are many documented instances relating to ‘Past Life Regression’, especially involving young children, which are difficult to explain rationally. There are
many cases where it is claimed that a relative long-dead has been reincarnated in one of their descendants – thus, you could be you great-great grandmother reincarnated!
But if ‘Past Life Regression’ could reveal that you and your great-great grandfather were one and the same person, what a wonderful way that might be to solve you ‘dead-end’ family tree problems!
So, has anyone ever undergone ‘Past Life Regression’ and tried to fill in Family Tree gaps that way. I’d like to know how successful you were, and what your experiences were. Please leave a comment to this blog to let me know..
However, I’m not too hopeful that this will help you with your Family Tree, although I’d love to be proved wrong! In the meantime, keep on looking through the censuses, parish registers and poor law records for your ancestors!
UK Censuses – Explanation Of Terms Used
On the UK Census records, the Family Historian will find a number of terms used that either had specific meanings or are not in common usage today.
Occupations
In the ‘Occupation’ part of the Census record, there will be many occupations which no longer exist today e.g. mantua-maker (a dressmaker who made cloaks); equally you won’t find many Computer Operators in the 19th Century! However some of the more common terms used in the censuses that need explanation are as follows:
Scholar – from 1861 onwards, a child was described as a scholar if they were over 5 years of age and receiving daily schooling, or regular tuition at home. In 1871 the census officials in London broke the census confidentiality pledge and divulged the names of all children between the ages of 3 and 13, and their parents (with their addresses) to the London School Board to help enforce compulsory education.
Annuitant – The term annuitant could describe someone on an annual allowance, as well as someone receiving annual income from an investment. It was also used for institutionalized pensioners.
Dressmaker – the occupation of ‘dressmaker’ was commonly given by prostitutes as well as bona-fide dressmakers!
‘Condition (as to Married)’ i.e. Relationships
In-Law – terms such as Brother and Brother-in-Law, Sister and Sister-in-Law, were often used interchangeably and somewhat unreliably. Similarly, step-children were sometimes listed as in-laws.
Unmarried women with children were sometimes listed as Widows, with their ‘Husband Lost at Sea’!
Boarder – a person who shared the dinner table with the family.
Lodger – a person who had separate accommodation to the family.
Last Column on Census Return
Lunatic – a mentally ill person, with periods of lucidity.
Imbecile – a person who, in later life, suffered from chronic dementia.
Idiot – a person who suffered from a long-term congenital mental deficiency.
How The Censuses Were Carried Out
Many Family Historians often shake their proverbial heads when they can’t find their ancestors in a census –although they ‘know’ they must be there! However, you will become more aware of why you can’t find your kith and kin if you understand how the censuses were taken from 1841 onwards!
The head of the household, usually the Father, had to fill in their individual household schedules, recording who was in their household on the Sunday night. On the Monday morning after census night, the official censusenumerators collected theses schedules.
If these schedules were not completed properly, the census enumerator was supposed to ask for extra details at thedoor, although this wasn’t done to a set pattern. If the householder was unable to fill in the schedule, perhaps because he or she was illiterate, the census enumerator had to fill it in for them. Consequently, many mistakes were made by the census enumerator, who may have misheard the householder, or even didn’t understand an accent!
The census was supposed to record all the people who were staying at a particular house on the night of the census, not necessarily who usually lived there; and, of course, some people were not at home! Thus, for example, a father may have been in lodgings away from home because of his work, or a mother may have been tending to a sick parent in the next village on that Sunday. Children may have been staying with grandparents, and other friends and relations could have been visiting that day. It may have been the case that a ‘normal’ resident was in hospital or even in prison!
Many other people were also not in their normal households on the census night and special arrangements had to be made for their enumeration. So apart from those in prison, these included the inmates of other institutions, the crews of ships on the seas, the army, itinerants and travellers, and night workers.
The census enumerators had quite a job on their hands trying to find people who for one reason or another did not want to complete the form. Then, as today, there were people who were fearful about giving personal information to the State – the ‘Big Brother’ syndrome. There are stories of people sleeping in fields under hedges so that they did not have to fill in the census form! And, of course, there were some who also slept in such places because they had had too much to drink that night!!
Finally, again then as now, there were insalubrious areas where a census enumerator feared to go, and so no census information was collected. Other people would hurl abuse at the census enumerator and tell them to go away, in less than polite terms. And there were many cases of the census enumerator knocking on doors for ages knowing full well that the occupants were hiding inside the house, not wanting to see him!
So, there are many reasons why your ancestors may not turn up where you expected them to be!
Build Your Family Tree From The Censuses
Along with birth, death and marriage certificates, the Census returns are the crucial resources you need to build your Family Tree. For most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the censuses, taken at ten year intervals, will help you to identify your ancestors and their families, and give you details of where they lived and what they did for their livings.
The Censuses for England, Scotland and Wales were taken on the following Sundays:
1801 10 March
1811 27 May
1821 28 May
1831 30 May
1841 6 June
1851 30 March
1861 7 April
1871 3 April
1881 3 April
1891 5 April
1901 31 March
1911 2 April
However, the 1801 to 1831 censuses are of little use to the Family Historian, being no more than headcounts, and in any case the 1831 Census was destroyed. The 1841 census, therefore, which identified individuals and households for the first time, is the first survey which is of importance for constructing your Family Tree.
The 1841 Census is somewhat basic – it did not identify exactly where a person was born – but this was rectified in the censuses from 1851 to 1911. For the 1851 to 1901 returns, we only have the census enumerators’ records, but for 1911, you can see copies of the census forms actually filled in by your ancestors.
The Census returns from 1921 on are still not available because of the ‘100 year’ confidentiality rules. However, the Second World War resulted in the cancellation of the 1941 Census for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while German bombing during that conflict destroyed the 1931 Census.
So, after the 1921 Census is released (probably sometime around 2018 because the stricy‘100 year privacy rule was abandoned for the 1911 Census), we’re in for a long wait for the next 1951 Census to be published!
The story of the Irish censuses, started in 1821, is a tragedy for Family Historians. The early censuses from 1821 to 1851 were destroyed by fire in 1922 during the Irish Civil War. The 1861 and 1871 censuses were officially destroyed soon after they were taken, while those for 1881 and 1891 were pulped during the First World War.
Only fragments of the 1821 to 1871 censuses remain, and these can be examined, along with the complete 1901 and 1911 censuses.
Tracing Your Irish Ancestors And Family History
As human beings, understanding who we are and figuring out where we came from are two extremely important facets of our lives. For many, knowing about their Irish ancestors and family history plays a very big role in how they understand themselves and their role in society today.
Over the past decade or so, tracing your Irish ancestors and discovering your family tree has become an activity that more and more people are embarking on. And, thanks to the Internet, tracing your ancestry can be a fun, informative and amazing process that will give you the answer that you have been wondering about for most of your life.
Although there are several myths floating around when it comes to tracing your Irish Ancestors, the most persistent and false one remains the statement that in 1922, thanks to the Civil War, all genealogical documentation was destroyed. While some information was indeed lost, due to the destruction of the Public Office in Dublin, vast amounts of genealogical documents kept in other repositories are still available for consultation.
However, tracing your Irish ancestry may not always be easy and, depending on your lineage, you may have to dig a little more deeply than you may first imagine. The Irish censuses of 1861 and 1871 were officially destroyed soon after they were taken (although fragments remain) while the 1881 and 1891 censuses were pulped during the First World War. And civil registration of births, deaths and marriages didn’t start until 1864 (with the exception of non-Catholic marriages which were recorded from 1845).
But all is not lost and tracing your Irish ancestry is very possible. There are, however, a few guidelines to follow when tracing your Irish Ancestors:
* Firstly, reading up on how to best trace our ancestors is a great starting place. Having a good idea of what you are looking for and how to do it is essential, otherwise you will simply lose a lot of valuable time. Fortunately, one of the best resource guides is my own book, ‘How To Track Down Your Ancestors’ which you can find on the home page of this website
* Try to get as much information about your family as you possibly can beforehand. Names, locations and dates are important, so start asking your family members questions
* Be patient, you will find yourself going through many ups and downs and you may have to spend a lot of time tracing information that may or may not be helpful to your search. Be prepared to do some work and be patient.
* If you encounter a difficulty, try to figure out a way around it – there will obstacles along the way, but there is also usually a solution
Tracing your Irish ‘family tree’ can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. So, go ahead and enjoy it! And have fun discovering your old Irish ancestry.
